Small businesses take a hit

In the first attempt to quantify the impact of the recession on small businesses in Connecticut, a new survey suggests less than half expect to turn a profit this year.

Whereas 62 percent of businesses polled last year by the Connecticut Business and Industry Association reported a profit in 2008, just 42 percent stated they expect to do so this year. A near-even split of remaining companies polled anticipate taking a loss or breaking even at best.

The recession forced nearly two-thirds of companies surveyed to trim their work forces, and almost half to cut compensation or other employee benefits.

“Business profitability took a big hit,” said Peter Gioia, an economist who is vice president of CBIA, speaking Thursday at a CBIA conference in Rocky Hill. “I think we are going to be challenged on jobs for some time to come.”

CBIA and the West Hartford-based accounting firm BlumShapiro conducted the poll via email in June, with more than 700 companies responding, most of them small- and mid-size businesses. Some 32 percent of respondents provide professional or business services, and 30 percent are manufacturers. The poll includes a margin of error of plus or minus 3.7 percent.

While half of respondents anticipate a national recovery next year, just 37 percent expect the same to hold true in Connecticut.